Saturday, 15 April 2017

If you have been following me on Instagram and Facebook, you'd have noticed my recent flatlay pics seem to have been revolving around marble theme. Guess what? It was totally on purpose. Surprise surprise. Nah.

After my home renovations last year, I was constantly on the lookout for pretty home decoration to beautify my home. My preferred picks are always along the colour themes of either feminine pinks or minimalist whites.

When I saw marble trays at the mall, I was immediately allured to them! I mean, who wouldn't? However, marble slabs are pretty heavy weighing a few hefty kilos and it was pretty inconvenient for me to lug them back home by myself, so I kept putting off the idea of marble-shopping.

Then I turned to online shopping... it was a total game-changer due to its delivery option!

Was comparing between some available options and honestly, there weren't too many in Singapore yet. And I was pretty picky about my marble decor. The ones I saw instore at the local mall were a little too greyish.

So when I saw the range of clean, white and beautiful marble range from Beyond Basic on their website, I was ecstatic!

I went ahead and placed my orders with Beyond Basic..and never looked back.

These high quality trays and slabs are not just for flatlays - I used them to hold things and also to serve desserts!

I know that since you're here probably to read more about my flatlay styling tips, so I would just go on to share my tips for creating a nice flatlay! Please know that I don't claim myself to be an expert in flatlay photography - I just enjoy doing it on a daily basis as a form of destressing, and also, it has since become my part-time "work" (totally don't feel like work to me though) since two years ago. And some of you have been asking how come my shots are so nice and so on, what camera am I using, etc. hence I thought why not just put it out there for you guys? :)

Things to Note Before Shooting Your Insta-worthy Flatlays

Lighting: Daylight is the best for taking flatlays so schedule your photoshoot in the day between 10am-11.30am or 2pm - 5pm. However, if it is rainy season, you can seek the help of artificial white lights. Remember, WHITE. And lighting should be coming from all angles, so yes, MORE than ONE light source.

Camera: Needless to say, DSLR with prime lens is the best. But if budget doesn't allow, Iphone 6 or 7 does a pretty okay job.

Decor: Prep your decor according to a theme - be it a colour theme, a lifestyle topic, or in my recent case - theme of marble! And you know where to get your marble goods!

Background: A big sheet of white paper as your white background is a good start. Otherwise, you can use any simple (un-messy) background of your preferred scenery or colour.

Things to Note During the Shoot

You should have ONE focus point, unless you want to feature everything in the frame - then you really need a good camera that can capture such details.

Take many many shots! You aren't playing Call of Duty, so no need for One Shot One Kill. Influencers who seem to always post flawless photos on their Instagram actually take numerous NG shots before selecting one satisfactory pic to post.

Composing & framing: Sorry folks, this one is a broad, never-ending topic and that's also where the talent & skills come in. Practice makes perfect! So just try taking more photos from different angles!

Postures can get really awkward for us "chronic flatlayers" (LOL) so be prepared to contort your body to get the best angle or to stand on a really tall chair, etc. Not kidding.

Things to Note After the Shoot

Filter: This is a very personal preference but many influencers do use a filter even for flatlays. They usually stick to one or two so their Instagram feed looks clean and uniformed. I personally do not frequently use Instagram filters, but I know of Instagrammers who adore the filters and edit their photos in-app.

Post-processing: For convenience sake, I use mobile apps such as FotoRus, PicsArt and Snapseed. When necessary, I will also use Photoshop on my PC. In the case when you don't own a good camera and your photos are a little blurry, remember to use the sharpening tool in the apps I mentioned above.

Hope this helps if you're just beginning to spark an interest in flatlay photography! Feel free to comment below and share with me some of your best tips for that perfect Instaworthy flatlay!

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"In my life, The Bible is my best guidebook. In my beauty world, I write my own bible. "

Hi, I am Faith from Singapore.

Welcome toFaithyVanityTable!

I blog about beauty, travel and lifestyle. In this lil' space of mine, you will find mostly reviews of products & services, makeup tips & tutorials and the occasional random musings that are travel & lifestyle related.